Rest, for God’s Sake

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I went back and forth about what to write about today, after taking a week off in desperation.

It comes down to this:  You (I) really need a certain amount of mental and emotional space to be able to write.  Well, for sanity, really. 

I don’t think it’s just because I spent A LOT of time alone as a child and I crave alone time.  I think everyone needs a certain amount of down time ~ unless you’re one of those people who keep frenetically busy because you’re running from yourself.  Even then you need it but can’t stand it.

Due to one thing or another, I was pressed so close on time and feeling very stressed and boxed in.  I had to let go a bit.  Plus I had a migraine over that weekend, so that didn’t help.

But over and above simple mental health, you need an imaginary but very real quiet space around you in order to be creative.  You need to have a view up and over, a feeling of being above the trenches ~ because if you’re in the trenches you’re too busy dodging bullets.  Certainly you can keep it up for a bit as they whiz by, but after a while the stress gets to you.

So the good news is I’m much more laid back now and have come back to all my projects with a renewed sense of purpose.  I got a huge project done over the weekend that had been weighing on me, and I even got some writing done on the novel!

So let me remind myself ~ and you, if you need it ~ the world will not end if you take a break.  You might, however, if you don’t.